Null Tower, New York City
The Operations Center could be the most secure place on the planet: this is where the Vanguard takes meetings, and where the fate of the Galaxy has been decided several times.
There are three people sitting at the round table, waiting for the actual meeting to start: Quantum is reading a comic book, Kari Zel is listening to music on her headphones, Torn is doing absolutely nothing, and Noriko Null is continuously tapping her finger against the table.
<We can reschedule if you are nervous.> Torn says, breaking the silence.
<I’m not nervous.> Noriko answers.
<We can start without him. It’s not like we really need him.> Quantum adds, putting aside his comic book. Noticing the others are talking, Kari takes off her headphones to ask:
<Are we doing this or what? I have a limited supply of duplicates and I have other places to be.>
<They’ll make it. They’re just a little late… as usual.> Noriko answers, just in time to see two people being teleported into the room. One is Vesta, the other one is a man wearing a uniform of the Athenian Fleet: Dmitry Voron, former head of superhuman research for Russia and former boyfriend of Noriko.
<You were waiting for us? You shouldn’t have.> he says.
<Nice to see you too, Dmitry. Please take a seat.> Noriko invites him. Voron moves to sit next to her, but Vesta gently pushes him aside, taking his place and forcing him to keep his distance.
<Let’s start. I understand your meeting with Hera didn’t go as planned?> Noriko asks her.
<That’s putting it gently. I screwed up royally: not only did they discover me, but now Hera suspects that we’re working with Athena since you sent one of her ships to rescue me. And worse, now Hera’s friends with your mother… and according to her, Nephthys kidnapped Ilithyia.>
<How could Leiko possibly know that?> Kari interjects.
<She used Lar technology to analyze the signature of the Silver Key of Heaven.>
<That would explain the readings that the Fleet found in the ruins of Asphodelus. The Federation has very advanced sensors, even more refined than the Ragnarok’s. Very interesting stuff.> Voron says, accessing the table’s interface to project a bunch of complicated graphs as holograms.
<Interesting indeed. Is that a scan for divine energy?> Noriko asks Voron.
<Yes. Athena wanted me to see if Eris escaped the destruction of Asphodelus… she was trapped on the planet, in case you didn’t know that. There’s no trace of her energy, but she disappeared after Ilithyia. And the Key has been used three times on that planet: once to take Ilithyia, once to take Eris, and once to destroy Asphodelus. Which means…>
<Ilithyia wasn’t kidnapped: she escaped using the Key, took Eris, and then threw the planet that destroyed Asphodelus. And you verified she took that planet from the Naqada Galaxy?>
<I did. Athena’s theory is that Eris and Ilithyia are working together.> Voron concludes.
<That doesn’t explain the Eden.> Torn intervenes. Usually he’s extremely quiet during these meetings, but today he seems to be quite interested.
<What do you know about them?> Vesta asks.
<Only legends. They are described as vicious beasts, invulnerable to anything except Blood weapons. They ruled the entire universe before Demons slaughtered them.>
<And they assimilate people. They’re basically the Borg who talk New Age crap and can turn intangible.> Quantum adds.
<I’m afraid they’re more than that. A single Eden was able to possess all of Kari’s duplicates, from another galaxy no less, and hack into the Tower’s mainframe. I think they might also be as smart as I am.> Noriko reasons.
<Not to mention that they were able to use my powers even better than I can.> Kari says, pouting.
<We don’t have any source of information about the Egyptian gods, but I think I can find out something more about the Eden.> Noriko adds, stroking her chin.
<You plan to visit the Egyptian galaxy?> Voron theorizes.
<Not yet. First I need to talk with the ghosts who live inside my brain.>
Naqada Galaxy, 17 million light-years from Earth
If there’s one thing about the Egyptians that Hermes can admire, it’s efficiency. When Zeus calls for a meeting in Olympus, it can take weeks before it happens, and there’s no guarantee that everyone will show up. But as soon as Nephthys calls her vassals, everyone arrives within the day.
The room is inside an empty pyramid, and there are eight thrones arranged in a triangle.
Nephthys, Goddess of the Dead and supreme ruler of this galaxy, sits on the tallest one; there is a snake slithering around her neck, like a weird living scarf.
On the left side of Nephthys, there’s a large black jackal sleeping on a throne of bones.
To her right, sitting on a smaller throne, there’s a goddess wearing a tight dress made of leopard skin: Seshat, goddess of wisdom and writing, holds a papyrus and a quill, ready to transcribe the meeting.
Then a a god wearing a white hooded cloak over a body as dark as night: Khonsu, god of the moon and of the passage of time. Next to him are the two war gods Wep-wawet and Sobek, the first with the head of a wolf and the second with the head of a crocodile, and they both seem to be waiting for an excuse to attack Hermes.
The last two remaining Egyptians are unreadable to him: Serket because she is still unconscious, and Renenutet because the harvest goddess has a snake instead of a head.
To complete the crowded room, Hermes is not the only Greek present: Ilithyia and Eris are also here, the latter possessing the body of a poor Egyptian mortal.
<Let’s start.> Nephthys says. Seshat than starts speaking, furiously transcribing her own words:
<In the name of Lady Nephthys, Goddess of the Dead, Supreme Being of the Naqada Galaxy, Sister-Widow of Set, the Council of Death is now in session. The Council recognizes the presence of Lord Hermes of the House of Olympus, son of Zeus, god of travels, tricksters and thieves.>
<We should eat him.> Sobek interrupts, while Wep-wawet growls.
<As much as I’m sure to be delicious, you may find my words equally appealing, my reptilian-faced friend. Does any of you know about the Eden?> Hermes asks.
<Vile mortals from our past. Insignificant when compared to us.> Nephthys answers.
<Well, they don’t have your radiant beauty or your excellent taste in pets, Lady Nephthys, but they should not be underestimated. A single Eden can convert any other mortal into an exact replica of itself in just seven days; even as we speak, there are already billions of Eden in this galaxy. And a single one of them can even incapacitate a goddess.> Hermes continues, pointing at Serket.
<A weak goddess.> Khonsu comments.
<How did the Eden reach our kingdom? They were supposed to be extinct.> Renenutet asks.
<Ah, yes, you see, that is a funny story, but it’s not important right now.> Hermes answers.
<He brought them back.> Eris adds.
<Eris, my dear, this isn’t really the time.> Hermes tries to silence her.
<You gave an Eden device to Null. You knew she would find a way to activate it and you knew that the last Eden planet was in this galaxy. This was your way to attack the Egyptians.> Eris continues.
<Lady Nephthys, may I ask you to remove my half-sister from this hearing?>
<I vouch for Eris.> Ilithyia intervenes. Hermes turns towards her, giving her a stare that would make any god flinch.
<I urge you to stay out of this, Ilithyia. This is not the place for amateurs: these are dangerous times and even gods are dying like flies.>
<He is an enemy to all of Egypt! You should not believe a single word he says!> Ilithyia shouts.
<Is that so?> Wep-wawet asks, standing up from his throne at the same time of Sobek.
Hermes doesn’t know much about either of them, but he knows better than to fight two war gods: he moves towards the nearest exit at the speed of light, but stop when Khonsu stops his way, moving twice as fast.
<Your timing is suspicious at best. You will remain here.> Khonsu orders him. Hermes tries a few more times to get away, but the Egyptian seems to be able to keep up until two snakes appear out of nowhere and tie up Hermes; despite his divine strength, he’s no match for a Class-1 goddess.
<We will deal with the Eden on our own. Meanwhile, Hermes, I wish to thank you for this declaration of war.> Nephthys tells him, with an evil smile on her face.
Boreas, 3.000 light-years from Earth
Isolated from the rest of the Galaxy, the capital world of the Winter Kingdom doesn’t get many visitors: the Lar are one of the very few species who can survive the freezing temperature of its surface. But today the Ice Queen is not alone when she returns to the Winter Palace: she’s accompanied by two goddesses. The blonde one looks younger, and wearing a very simple dress that shouldn’t do anything to warm her. By contrast, the older brunette shivers in her fur coat.
<Why would anyone live here? I should’ve transformed your servant into something better than a white bear.> Circe complains.
<I have grown to appreciate the perks of my position.> the Ice Queen comments, as a Lar man removes the blue cape from her armor. Hebe understands she’s not talking about the servants, but about the two blocks of ice in the throne room: Dionysus and Tyche are still trapped inside them.
<When are you going to free them?>
<That depends, Princess Hebe. I have taken over their territory; if I free them, will you support my claim to keep them?>
<I’d have to ask my mother. She doesn’t want me to do politics.>
<I don’t think that would be too much trouble, Ice Queen. Hera seems to like you; I wonder how you managed to bond with her so quickly when I couldn’t.> Circe says.
<Do you have children, Circe?>
<Not anymore. I had a couple of demigods, but they died ages ago.>
<Then you can’t understand the frustration of being continuously disappointed by them. Hera needs to be in command and to have the total and complete dedication of those beneath her… something quite common in your family, as I understand.>
<Not in all of us.> Hebe complains.
<The three of us are very different, but we all want the same things: respect and freedom from Hera’s tyranny. We can all reach that goal, if you are willing to pay my price.>
<What are you proposing?> Circe asks, now intrigued by this mortal.
<You already know how to transform men into animals. You will need to learn how to transform a woman into a goddess.>
Naqada Galaxy, 17 million light-years from Earth
Hermes is trapped inside a literal snake pit: he’s tied to an Ankh cross by anacondas and black mambas, each one possessing with a tiny fraction of the power of Nephthys. He’s strong enough to lift mountains, but these reptiles won’t allow him to move a finger.
He has a visitor, an Egyptian woman; when she slowly approaches him, the snakes that cover the floor move aside to let her pass. She may possess the power of a mortal, but Hermes is not fooled.
<It was a good plan, I admit.> she says.
<Seriously? You want to do this now, Eris?>
<Hiding on Earth until the Slayer of Gods has killed your rivals and dies of old age? I considered stealing your idea, for a while.>
<What made you change your mind?>
<My idiotic half-sister decided to bring the Egyptians into this. I could get this entire galaxy wrapped around my finger in no time… except another sibling had the brilliant idea to resurrect the Eden. I know you’re not stupid, Hermes: you wouldn’t do that without a plan to deal with them.>
<And you want me to divulge that information, in exchange for my freedom?>
<More like your life. Nephthys is powerful enough to kill you.>
<True, but she’s also one of the Nine Gods: if she wants me dead, there’s no place in the universe where I can hide from her. Unless we find a way to steal her power.>
The god of tricksters and the goddess of strife look at each other, searching for any clue about what the other one is thinking. When they finally talk, they say the same thing at the same time:
<Let’s make a deal.>
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